William L. Banning

William Lowber Banning was a politician active in the U.S. State of Minnesota.
Banning was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and later moved to Pennsylvania. He served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing Philadelphia in 1845. He was then a member of the Native American Party. He moved to Minnesota in 1854. In 1860, he was elected as a Republican to the Minnesota House of Representatives. He served one term.
In 1864, he became President of the Lake Superior and Mississippi River Railroad Company, a position he served in until 1871.
In 1877, he ran for Governor of Minnesota for the Democrats. He lost to incumbent John S. Pillsbury.
The town of Banning, Minnesota was named after him. The town became a ghost town after fires in 1912. It is now a state park.